Comments: In spite of the economy, Epple Druckfarben AG, a Neusaess, Germany-based family-owned sheetfed ink specialist, had a strong year in 2009, with its sales increasing by 7 percent and the company opening a new U.S. subsidiary near Atlanta, GA. Even as the company enjoyed growth, company officials reported that competition remains intense among ink manufacturers due to the slow ink market.

In order to compensate for higher raw material prices, Epple Druckfarben opened new raw material sources, but the ongoing rise in raw material prices could not be avoided or passed on to the customer completely.

Epple Druckfarben has continued to excel in the area of R&D. For example, its development of BoFood MH, a migration-harmless offset printing series which was especially developed for the safe printing of primary food packaging, keeps the company in the position to play an active role also in the future.

Among Epple Druckfarben’s other recently launched products are the Solution sheetfed ink series, which is characterized by excellent runnability, good cylinder rolling, excellent ink/water balance, high intensity, very good rub resistance and low misting properties; and the Temptation Series of sheetfed inks, which offers high gloss as well as excellent runnability; and a modern all-around series designed for the widest possible field of applications.